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Brad VanAuken Business-to-Business Marketing Techniques

Brad VanAuken,
President of BrandForward, Inc.
vanauken@brandforward.com

Following are marketing techniques outside of the typical ones (advertising, publicity, trade shows, etc.) that many business-to-business companies have found to be effective:

  • Create and actively interact with customer advisory boards. Invite the most influential opinion leaders to participate.
  • Create and actively interact with strategic partner boards.
  • Create external “expert councils” for all major new products. Invite the most knowledgeable and influential outside experts to participate, involve them in the product design itself.
  • Hold conferences and seminars, inviting current satisfied customers, prospective customers and internal and external industry experts. Present case studies, the latest innovations, let the experts speak, and allow time for networking.
  • For software companies, “Beta test” your software with major influential customers and those that would provide compelling case studies and testimonials.
  • Hold product launch parties for important customers.
  • Record testimonials from your most supportive customers and subtly interweave these with the background music that plays when people are on hold at your company. (This could become annoying to some people who are waiting to speak to a customer service or technical support rep regarding a major problem. Hopefully, they aren’t on hold for long!)
  • Develop and disseminate a portfolio of customer case studies to reinforce specific brand benefits to specific target customers.
  • Publish and widely disseminate white papers to position your organization and brand as experts in your field.
  • Develop a speakers’ bureau and actively orchestrate speaking engagements at key industry events — conferences, trade shows, industry association meetings, etc. At Element K, we started a local chapter of Toastmasters and assigned the speakers bureau responsibility to a specific individual.
  • Actively seek industry association committee assignments and board positions.
  • Constantly keep the following people and organizations aware of your brand and its latest accomplishments:
    • Industry analysts
    • Financial analysts
    • Resellers and other strategic partners
    • Your organization’s professional partners: lawyers, accountants, management consultants, advertising agencies, etc.
    • Trade magazine editors and writers
    • People who write about your industry for the general business press
    • People who write books about your industry
    • Other opinion leaders

How to Get the News Media to Cover Your Story
Stories have a better chance of being covered if they:

  • Tie into what people are talking about today
  • Add to discussions on current “hot” issues or topics
  • Reference prominent people, places or things
  • Have visual impact
  • Are dramatic
  • Are unexpected, controversial or outrageous
  • Directly impact a publication’s readership
  • Have “human interest”
  • Educate or entertain a publication’s readers
  • Have a “local” angle
  • Tie into a holiday or special occasion
  • Represent a significant milestone or a major honor

 

 


Brad VanAuken is president and founder of BrandForward, Inc., a full-service brand management consultancy with clients throughout the world. Previously, Brad was the vice president of marketing for Element K, a leading e-learning company and director of brand management and marketing for Hallmark Cards, Inc. During his tenure as Hallmark’s chief brand advocate, Hallmark received the Brand Management of the Year award. Recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on brand management and marketing, Brad is a much sought after speaker and writer. He wrote the books The Brand Management Checklist and Brand Aid. His free online brand management and marketing newsletter is read by thousands of marketers throughout the world. Brad has a BS degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Email: vanauken@brandforward.com
Company Profile: BrandForward, Inc.
Company URL: http://www.brandforward.com

 

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